General information
Organisation
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.
Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.
The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
Reference
SL-DRF-26-0785
Direction
DRF
Thesis topic details
Category
Life Sciences
Thesis topics
Understanding and exploiting evolvability of biological systems
Contract
Thèse
Job description
Directed evolution is a cornerstone of synthetic biology, yet its outcome is heavily constrained by the starting genotype. This latent capacity to innovate—termed evolvability—varies drastically across closely related proteins and microbial strains due to biophysical trade-offs and historical contingency. Financed by the ANR ProtEvol project, this thesis aims to systematically decipher and engineer the determinants of evolvability across two biological scales. At the macromolecular level, we will develop a novel, plasmid-free genomic diversification strategy to map the adaptive pathways of diverse ROK kinase homologs, leveraging AI and machine learning collaborations to extract predictive sequence features of functional promiscuity. Simultaneously, at the organismal scale, we will utilize the automated continuous-culture GM3 platform to evaluate how Escherichia coli strains with divergent pyruvate assimilation backgrounds evolve toward synthetic C1-formatotrophy. By combining high-throughput sequence diversification, machine learning, and automated evolution, this work will transform evolvability from an abstract evolutionary concept into a predictable, steerable parameter for industrial bioproduction.
University / doctoral school
Structure et Dynamique des Systèmes Vivants (SDSV)
Paris-Saclay
Thesis topic location
Site
Fontenay-aux-Roses
Requester
Person to be contacted by the applicant
CHOUDHURY Alaksh
achoudhu@genoscope.cns.fr
CEA
DRF/JACOB/Genoscope/L2BMS
2 Rue Gaston Crémieux, 91000 Évry-Courcouronnes
Tutor / Responsible thesis director
Doring Volker
vdoring@genoscope.cns.fr
CEA
DRF/JACOB/GEN/LA
2 rue Gaston Crémieux
91057 EVRY CEDEX
0160874586
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